You and Me?
by WritingFiend214
Summary: Stefan tries to mend his friendship with Caroline (post 6.08)


If anyone were to ask Damon Salvatore to say one thing about his younger brother, it would be "He's as dense as a brick. Really."

Above anything Damon has ever said, nothing could be truer than that statement, so it was entertaining for all of Mystic Falls to watch as Stefan Salvatore eventually came to realize that, despite his constant denial, he really _did_ love Caroline Forbes.

Thanksgiving came and went but Stefan couldn't get the last time he saw Caroline out of his had. He knew there was so much more he had to do to repair their friendship and he didn't know how, but he knew he had to try.

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The next time Stefan saw Caroline was at Elena's house. He noticed her leaving just as he was coming in.

"Hey, Caroline."

"Oh. Hey, Stefan. What are you doing here?"

"Just came by to visit," he says. She nods and makes a motion to say goodbye, but he interrupts before she's done.

"Do you mind if we talk sometime today?" he asks hesitantly. She looks confused but before she can respond, they hear a loud honk.

Both of them turn around and it's Matt in his car, calling out Caroline's name.

"Oh, sorry, Stefan! I really have to go! Matt's helping me deal with some stuff," Caroline says in a rush, running towards Matt's car.

He wants to ask _what stuff tell me I'll help you I've always helped you _but he knows he has no right to that anymore.

And just like that, she leaves him standing on the front steps of the Gilbert house.

He watches her get in the car and laugh at something Matt says before the pair drive away and he's left with a bitter feeling that he just can't quite place.

To say he is annoyed would be an understatement.

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The next he tries to talk to Caroline doesn't turn out any better than the last.

He's in a bar with Alaric discussing how they'll find Bonnie when he notices a certain blonde head walk by and he can't help but recall the last time they met this way.

_You know that's the thing Stefan. After all of this, I-I don't want to be friends anymore._

Shrugging the memory away, he quickly cuts the conversation with Alaric and tries to ignore the laugh that echoes behinds him and he runs towards Caroline.

"Caroline!" he yells just as she's about to turn the corner.

She turns around, obviously startled, and he puts his hands up to reassure her that it's just him. Her eyes flicker with familiarity for a second before they harden.

He ignores the hurt he feels.

"I know we didn't get to talk last time, but I really need to talk to you. I've been thinking about some things and I'm trying to mend our friendship, so don't walk away this time. Please. Let me try to fix this," he says.

He wants to cringe at how desperate he sounds because _for god's sake he's a hundred and fifty year old vampire _but he knows he needs to make it up to her.

She sighs and her face softens and she looks so sorry that he knows something bad is about to happen the minute she opens her mouth.

"I'm sorry, Stefan, but I can't be there for you right now. My first concern is getting Bonnie back and for the first time in so long, I finally have a purpose besides asking you to return to Mystic Falls and I need to be focused 100% on Bonnie. She deserves that. There might have been a time when you were my first priority, but I can't risk going back to that again."

His heart turns to ice at her words and, numbly, he nods along to whatever she's just said.

She puts a hand on his shoulder to comfort him and he's never hated himself more.

"See you around, Stefan."

Watching her walk away seems to have become an ugly habit of his.

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He backs off from Caroline for the next few weeks, 'nursing his wounds' as Damon calls it, but he really has no idea how to get her back.

He marvels at how strong and independent she's become over the last six years, that the girl who thought she meant nothing to anyone finally grew up and realized her worth and refuses to let anyone put her down, but he _hates_ that he's on the short of the stick this time.

He wants to be the one she hangs out with instead of Matt or Elena or Tyler or Enzo. He wants to be the one who she worries about Bonnie with. He wants to do everything with her again and _honestly?_

He just wants his best friend back.

It's only after hanging out with Damon 24/7 every day all day does he realize that his life is still nothing without Caroline.

He feels hollow and numb, regardless of how much Damon and Alaric and Elena try to help him.

He knows this loss is only an ounce of what Caroline felt when he left town and he wants to apologize to her for the rest of his life.

You really don't know what you have until it's gone.

The day Bonnie comes back is huge news in Mystic Falls. The second Stefan hears the news from a beaming Alaric, he goes straight to Caroline's house.

The door is ajar and he walks in but pauses as he sees the scene in the living room.

Elena and Caroline are hugging and they're both crying and they're so happy and he's never been more jealous of Elena Gilbert.

Matt and Tyler are watching the two with amusement, but it's clear that Bonnie's return is a happy event for everyone.

He leaves before they notice him and he's never felt more alone before.

In another time, he'd be with them celebrating and wiping Caroline's tears off.

He knows he has no one else to blame but himself for this mess.

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Bonnie's return party is, _of course_, thrown by Caroline, and though he's upset he received his invite through Damon, he figures it's a step up from Friendsgiving.

The guest in honor looks spectacular and radiant in her crimson dress, but she doesn't hold a candle to Caroline. He walks in with Damon and immediately notices her, beautiful and glowing in a dress perfectly complimenting her eyes.

Just enough to draw attention to herself, yet still let Bonnie be the one front and center.

He looks at her and feels the spark he felt when she gave him the doggy bag after Friendsgiving.

She notices him by the door and waves him in.

"Thank you for coming, Stefan. I'm so happy everyone could be here for Bonnie," she says happily.

Her smile is infectious and he laughs.

"You look beautiful, Caroline. You really out-did yourself," he says.

"Thank you," she says, blushing.

He moves closer to her and she stares up at him, eyes shining.

The spark electrifies and he's unable to move away.

Does she notice how he can't stop looking at her lips?

He starts to say more, but she's turning to leave and he notices a new arrival.

Enzo.

Stefan watches as Caroline rushes to greet him, throwing him into a hug and ushering him towards the food table.

He tries to ignore how they are matched perfectly to the tee and her laughs as Enzo almost trips.

He tries to ignore how happy she looks with him and how Enzo kisses her cheek.

He thinks he wants to rip Enzo apart.

Over and over again.

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Halfway through the party, which everyone besides him seems to be having a thrill at, he goes to look for Caroline, who's disappeared.

He ignores the fact that Enzo is also missing.

He searches through the house before hearing voices near her room.

"Caroline, did I mention how gorgeous you look tonight?"

Immediately placing the voice, Stefan wants to barge in and interrupt the moment but he listens on.

Caroline laughs and says, "More than once, Enzo, but thank you. I think you're a more than a little tipsy right now, so why don't we get you downstairs?"

"Please. I'm perfectly fine. Did you happen to notice how we match tonight?"

"Why do I get the feeling that was planned and not an accident?" she asks accusingly.

"I might have had Elena tell me what you were going to wear tonight," he says slyly.

She laughs and Stefan wants to punch a wall.

"I know what you're thinking, Caroline, but I promise, you and me? It's gonna happen a lot sooner than you think."

At Enzo's last words, Stefan's thoughts immediately go to the words he once told Caroline six years ago.

_Caroline…You and me. It's not gonna happen_

He wants laugh and cry and die but most of all, he wants to say I love you to Caroline Forbes.

How could someone be so so _so_ wrong about their future?

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Instead, he walks into the room.

"Caroline, can I have a moment?"

"Uh, yeah sure. Enzo needs some help getting downstairs so let me get him there and I'll be right back," she says.

"No, no I'm fine, darling" Enzo says and he starts to sit on the bed. Caroline looks perplexed but Stefan simply raises a finger.

"DAMON", he yells and he's never been more thankful for his older brother.

Damon arrives in an instant, raising his eyebrows at the scene, but Stefan gives him a look telling him to stay quiet.

"Can you take Enzo out of here?"

"Yeah, let's get going, buddy. There's plenty of drinks for the two of us downstairs," Damon says as he drags Enzo out. He closes the door, but not before flashing Stefan a quick thumbs up, who just rolls his eyes.

"So…" Caroline says, unsure. She folds her hands across her chest, accidentally revealing more of her cleavage, and _holy shit Caroline this isn't making my life any easier right now._

"I know this is awful timing of me, but I finally realized something, Caroline. I realized that without you, my life sucks and Damon and Elena and Alaric can't fill the space that you left behind in my heart.

I'm sorry I'm such a terrible friend and you deserve so much better than me, Caroline, but I'm selfish and I can't do this without you.

I know I said I left because I didn't want to deal with the trauma, but I was wrong. I was so wrong. I realized that I can handle anything as long as I have you. I'm sorry I've been such an idiot these past few months. You mean everything to me, and I don't want to lose you again."

"So, what are you saying Stefan?" Caroline whispers, her eyes flooding with tears.

He breathes deep and inches closer and closer to her until they're so close her lips are almost touching his.

"I'm saying…I love you. I've loved you for a long time and it's took me a while to realize it but I'm sorry and I've been an idiot-"

Caroline kisses him and it's perfect.

It's six years of friendship and love and happiness tied together in one kiss and he's never felt this way in all the decades he's lives through and no matter what he's been through and what'll happen in the future, this moment is worth it.

"I love you too, Stefan," she says.

-  
>fin.<p> 


End file.
